Local foreclosure rate declines

Archuleta County Treasurer and Public Trustee Betty Diller gave a report to the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 5 that, in addition to discussing the county’s cash on hand at the end of 2012, indicated that foreclosures are on a steady decline in the county.

During the report, Diller said her office ended 2012 with 124 foreclosures processed on the year.

That number is the lowest in several years, Diller said in a Wednesday interview.

In 2011, Diller’s office processed 150 foreclosures, which was a significant decrease from the 221 processed in 2010 — the greatest number of foreclosures in recent years. There were 217 processed in 2009.

“When I looked at the numbers, I thought, ‘This is amazing,’” Diller said, pleased with the positive trend.

And it seems the trend is continuing.

“We’re already seeing a significant reduction in the number of files we’ve processed this year,” Diller said.

As of Wednesday, the office had processed six foreclosures. During the same time period in 2012, the office had processed 21.

In addition to reporting the positive trend in foreclosures to the commissioners on Feb. 5, Diller reported the total cash on hand for the county for 2012 — reminding the board that the treasury only reports cash and not total county funds.

At the end of the year, Diller said the county had a total of $11,598,884.52 in cash in a variety of banks, noting that the amount included some cash for other taxing entities.

Additionally, the county has $4 million in bond investments, Diller reported.

Diller said total county funds in 2012 were $10,599,086.52 — up from $9,070,406.07 in 2011.

The General Fund saw an increase in cash from 2011 to 2012, Diller reported, with about $4.9 million in 2011 and $7 million in 2012.

The Road and Bridge Fund, meanwhile, saw a decrease in cash, from $3.1 million in 2011 to $2.5 million in 2012.

Archuleta County Combined Dispatch also saw a decrease in cash between the two years, of about $100,000.

Cash in the Solid Waste Fund increased from 2011 to 2012, however, by about $40,000, and there was an increase of almost $94,000 in cash in the Fleet Fund.